Bearer Control Mode (BCM) in a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) mobile network Internet Protocol Connectivity Access Network (IP-CAN) session (or Gateway Control session) defines if it accepts network-initiated bearer establishment or modification. The 3GPP standard (specifically TS 29.212) states that the Bearer-Control-Mode AVP should be decided based on the Network-Request-Support (NRS) AVP in the Credit Control Request (CCR) message and the operator's policies defined in Policy Control and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) node.
However, the 3GPP specifications do not address certain scenarios, but which must to be addressed in real-world networks: such as how to handle a stored NRS value in a case where an operator's policy overrides BCM determination; how to handle a stored NRS value in a case of a failed message exchange; and how a PCRN should interact with PDN gateways which are non-standard, or do not support NRS and/or BCM.
In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to provide a Policy and Charging Rules Node (PCRN) implementing a PCRF capable of handling some or all of the above scenarios.